Irish consumer rights and booking cancellations: writing terms that hold up

Tell the guest before they commit, not after

Because almost every holiday booking is made at a distance, a second layer applies on top. The CCPC adds email and online contact details, payment and delivery arrangements, cancellation terms for contracts with no fixed length or that renew automatically, disclosure where pricing is based on profiling of the customer's online behaviour, and the conditions attached to any deposit. That information is to be supplied on paper unless the consumer agrees otherwise, which in practice means a confirmation the guest can keep and reread.

Notice what this changes about deposits. A deposit condition buried in a footer on a booking page is not information given before the consumer agreed. If the cleaning supplement, the late-arrival charge or the non-refundable portion only appears in the confirmation email, it arrived too late to be part of the deal.

Writing a policy that holds up

• Make it symmetrical. If you keep money when the guest cancels, say what the guest receives when you cancel.
• Make it graduated. A single figure applied whether the guest cancels in March or the night before invites the disproportionate-compensation argument.
• Make it visible before payment. The guest should see the refund ladder and every supplement on the page where they commit.
• Give your reasons in writing. If you can cancel for essential repairs or safety, name the circumstances instead of reserving a free hand.
• Keep the evidence. Save the exact terms shown on the day of booking; a policy you have since improved is not the policy that guest accepted.

Write it in the language you would use to explain it out loud to a neighbour, in euro, with dates rather than vague windows. If you are preparing an Irish holiday let and want your booking terms looked over before the season starts, send us the property and the terms you use today. We study every request and tell you honestly whether and how we can help.